Star Wars: The Last Jedi 2017
one of the crowded late-2017 releases Molly's Game got buried under.
The Big Picture · Discussion · Review · Interview · Roundtable
The Curious Case of 'Molly's Game' and Netflix | The Big Picture
April 21, 2020/ 99 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins
Sean and Amanda dig into why Molly's Game, a modest 2017 flop, is suddenly having a moment 28 months later on Netflix, then Sean talks to Wagner Moura and Greg Barker about their Netflix drama Sergio.
35 films across 4 segments.
AI-generated This episode was transcribed and analyzed with AI models. The matches aren't perfect — expect the occasional misheard title or a link to the wrong film.
The Netflix Effecthow quarantine viewing is reviving old catalog titles
The Greatest Showman 2017
Phantom Thread 2017
The Post 2017
Bright 2017
Netflix's own entry in that same release window.
Love Wedding Repeat 2020
Netflix original Amanda watched over the weekend, mixed feelings.
Selah and the Spades 2019
Amazon original Sean called a confident debut feature.
Underwater 2020
Kristen Stewart alien-horror riff Sean caught at 1 a.m.
Despicable Me 2010
dominated the Netflix Top 10 that weekend.
Angel Has Fallen 2019
sat on the Netflix Top 10 for two straight weeks, to their confusion.
The Irishman 2019
cited as an example of Netflix's loose definition of a 'watch.'
Roma 2018
Annihilation 2018
one stop on Sean's five-movies-in-a-day quarantine binge.
Some Like It Hot 1959
part of Amanda's TCM 72-hour marathon weekend.
Grey Gardens 1975
North by Northwest 1959
Quarantinable: 'Molly's Game'Aaron Sorkin's messy 2017 directorial debut, reconsidered
Molly's Game 2017
Sorkin's overstuffed, undisciplined debut, now thriving as a phone-out-on-the-couch watch.
Rounders 1998
the poker-movie benchmark they say Molly's Game doesn't bother matching.
The Cincinnati Kid 1965
cited for how patiently it lets a poker hand play out.
Maverick 1994
Hustlers 2019
the closest visual comp for Molly's Game's late-2000s wardrobe.
A Few Good Men 1992
the '90s Sorkin script this one keeps getting measured against.
The Social Network 2010
Amanda's pick for Sorkin's best script, one he didn't direct.
Steve Jobs 2015
Zero Dark Thirty 2012
the era Amanda says made her a Jessica Chastain fan.
Enemy of the State 1998
Sean's other example of a great movie built around a park-bench scene.
The Conversation 1974
same park-bench theory, cited alongside Enemy of the State.
In conversation
Wagner Moura and Greg Barker on
Sergio 2020
their Netflix drama about UN diplomat Sergio Vieira de Mello, based on Barker's own 2009 documentary.
Wagner Moura and Greg Barker on
Marighella 2021
Moura's directorial debut, about Brazilian revolutionary Carlos Marighella; premiered 2019, released 2021 after Brazilian censorship delays.
Wagner Moura and Greg Barker on
Wasp Network 2019
Olivier Assayas's film about the Cuban Five, another Moura real-person role.
Last Great Thing They've Seen the closing question
Picked by Greg Barker
Little Women 2019
praised for how it plays with time and never feels like a period piece.
Picked by Wagner Moura
Parasite 2019
the film he gave the top prize to as a Sydney Film Festival juror.
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV Tiger KingHouse of CardsYouThe West WingWeedsSuccessionThe WireNarcosThe Last Dance (the Jordan documentary)
Ads World Central KitchenSpotify (Bill Simmons ad read)